Review Summary: Out of sight, out of mind
Isn’t it easy to say no? There’s a comfort and simplicity involved in rejection; it takes no time, no effort, and no reason. Everyone can admit that trying new things is scary, but that fear and risk is necessary to grow as an individual. Think back to the most important times in your own life, the times where you can see an evolution of self from point A to point B. Were those events ones that challenged your original beliefs? Were they ones that caused initial friction succeeded by wonder, like when a child touches a metal doorknob after running around on a carpet, and is met with a shock that at first causes pain, but then internally stirs awe and excitement?
Ola Gjeilo challenges the average music listener. It presents you with a schematic that promises long term pleasure for the sacrifice of immediate accessibility.
Northern Lights is a collection of classical choral pieces from conductor Ola Gjeilo that range from three minutes all the way to nearly thirteen. Both the title and cover of the album set the stage for what is to come; this music is the idyllic soundtrack for sitting on a snow bank outside Alaska mid-September amongst the towering pines, gazing towards the heavens at the Aurora Borealis so neatly juxtaposed against its obsidian backdrop.
One aspect of
Northern Lights that sets it apart from a lot of other modern classical and choral work is its diversity. The album assimilates distinct qualities from the major musical eras (Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern), creating a unique and varied experience that presents the listener with an array of moods and sentiments. From the Baroque era,
Northern Lights gives us vocal virtuosity; from the Classical era, easily the most commonly-known era made famous by the likes of Mozart and such, we hear an attention to structure and homophonic phrasing. Acapella pieces like “Ubi Caritas” and the title track lack the supplemental piano and strings found in other pieces and instead present feeling in its most raw form, standing as the album’s testaments to the emotionally driven styles of Romantic era music. And from the Modern era, Ola Gjeilo showcases his admiration for contemporary composers such as Phillip Glass and John Cage by incorporating minimalistic and movie soundtrack qualities in his pieces, particularly in “The Spheres”.
Ola Gjeilo has handpicked this chorus perfectly, like an experienced farmer, taking only the ripest and freshest product to showcase to the masses. There is an oral balance between the tenors and bases present, the two of them involved in a symbiotic relationship that births a sound that is captivating in its softer moments and commanding in its louder ones.
Where
Northern Lights succeeds astronomically is its ability to convey a plethora of emotions that truly and genuinely connect with the listener on subconscious levels. No better example of this is found than in the album’s centerpiece and sentimental apex, “Dark Night of the Soul”. The piece, adapted from a 16th-century poem by Spanish poet Saint John of the Cross, narrates the journey of the soul leaving its physical shell to preside in residence with God, and can best be seen as two halves. The first half is the ‘Dark Night’, which illustrates the hardships and pain faced as one attempts to nurture a relationship with God. The tempo, for one of the only times in the album, is frantic and nimble, the piano and strings ascending and descending rapidly beside soft wails that are equally conveying distress as they are faith. There appears to be an exodus occurring within the story, a change that is resonating within the very core of the piece. This leads us into the second half (which starts around 5:45) where we see the soul finally gaining admittance into the Pearly Gates, proof that the preceding struggle was worth the reward. The voices cheer and celebrate as the novel soul spirals into the clouds. The piano flutters and chirps like a bird flying back to the nest, signaling the spirit’s return home. By the end of “The Dark Night of the Soul”, a rebirth has taken place. There is a resurrection of body, mind, and spirit– new forms of old beings that rise like Christ himself from their own ashes.
Northern Lights is not a religious album by any means; but, to call this album non-spiritual would be entirely false. This album transcends beyond social boundaries like race, credence, and class by creating an experience that everyone everywhere can enjoy at any time. Through this album, Ola Gjeilo makes mysticism accessible. He is able to take what is usually a complex and dividing philosophy and break it down into its fundamental ideas without losing any significance in the process.
In the end,
Northern Lights presents compositions that offer an innovative look at ubiquitous emotions like joy, discovery, hardship, recovery, and hope by substituting convenience for sincerity.
